ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (January 10, 2018) — The Tampa Bay Rowdies have rounded out an excellent goalkeepers corps with the signing of Matias Reynares, the club announced Wednesday. Per club and league policy, further contract details were not disclosed.

Reynares, 19, is no stranger to the Rowdies organization, having spent three separate loan spells in Tampa Bay last season while a member of North Carolina FC.

The Argentine goalkeeper sat on the Rowdies’ bench for six matches last season.

“We worked a lot with Matias last year and knew right away that he was a player we wanted to bring to our organization,” Rowdies Head Coach Stuart Campbell said. “He’s really young, but he has all the physical tools you could want in a goalkeeper. With Akira (Fitzgerald) and Cody (Mizell) already on the roster, I feel we have the best set of goalkeepers in the league by far. The competition will make all three of them better.”

Reynares signed his first professional contract with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in 2015 before joining NCFC in 2016. With the recent additions of Reynares and Kyle Curinga all under the age of 25, the Rowdies are building a core of skilled young players to complement the experience of last year’s returning players.

“We brought back many experienced players from last season, but we’ve added amazing young talent as well,” said Rowdies Chairman & CEO Bill Edwards. “Matias will be a great addition to this excellent roster and we welcome him back to the Rowdies. We have amazing goalkeepers set for 2018 and I am excited for our fans to see them in action!”